Consumer interest in buying cars online is flourishing, and one credit union's plan to capitalize on that trend is highlighting just how much the internet is changing the way credit unions operate in the digital era.

Earlier this month, Orlando, Florida-based Fairwinds Credit Union announced it now offers member financing to customers of Carvana, a Phoenix-based e-commerce company that buys and sells used cars online. Carvana allows customers to filter through its inventory online, inspect cars via 360-degree photos, complete purchases electronically and have cars delivered to their homes or made available for pickup at one of the company's five “vending machine” sites around the country. The company completed a $225 million IPO in April.

The partnership, which Fairwinds Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Lending Officer Jim Adamczyk said was a few months in the making, reflects a noticeable trend in the automotive industry — one that can be lucrative for technologically adept credit unions.

“We certainly have the experience where you could go to a dealership, and we've got great dealership relationships. We have a car concierge that will go find that car that you want, and whatnot. But we didn't have anything that was truly digital — all online — and that's what we were looking for,” he said. “It fit in well with our strategy.”

The idea is to speak to members who are tired of traditional car-buying transactions, which often require visiting a branch for preapproval, then driving to a dealership to shop, Adamczyk said.

According to a November 2016 study by Capgemini Consulting, many people are indeed open to change: about 60% of Americans and 77% of Chinese and German consumers in the study said they were now willing to buy a new car online. Almost half (47%) of the Americans in the study said they think buying a car online will get them a discount, and 35% said technological cooperation with banks would increase their willingness to buy a car online.

“Given that so many customers have a hunger for a holistic online purchasing experience, including finance contracts, inspection packages, insurance, other add-ons, and less paperwork,” the study noted, “this begs the following question: when will this become just another channel to market, a mainstream way of selling cars?”

For Fairwinds, which has $2.2 billion in assets and about 179,000 members, that time apparently is now. Adamczyk said members can still call the credit union to get pre-approved, and then the credit union makes Carvana aware that the customer is a pre-approved member. The paperwork is done via DocuSign so that members never have to come to a branch or set foot on a car lot.

“Literally, they could sit on the couch, watching TV, using their phones, search for a car, pick the car they want, and then we could send the documents and they could sign on their phone. It really is a true digital loan experience,” he said.

In addition to capturing more auto loan business from digitally inclined car buyers, Fairwinds saves money by not having to pay dealer fees for Carvana transactions, Adamczyk noted. It also gets an opportunity to cross-sell, he said.

“The insurance and protection products that the member purchases, they're purchasing through a credit union and they don't have to worry about some dealership selling those products as well. From a credit union perspective, that makes the car all that more profitable for the organization,” he added.

The bigger competitive advantage, however, may be the buying experience.

“My advice is to let a member buy a car how they want to buy a car,” Adamczyk explained. “It's not our job to tell them they have to buy it this way. Our job is to help them find the best avenue that suits their buying needs, and then provide them the easiest financing source that's available. And so [credit unions] really need to think through what it is they want their members to experience.”

Instant Insights /

Credit Union Hits the Gas With Online Car Buying

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